A Challenge for the Best
by Danni Tran
Summary: Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura are 2 of the FBI's most valuable agents. Too bad they just can't get along. When they find themselves in a dangerous lifegambling game, they'll have to put their differences aside and deal with it or else. SasuSaku GaaOC
1. Challenge Declared

**Hey guys ^_^ I am back with ANOTHER story XD Like I mentioned in my other story, I have nothing against Sakura because I think she's cool ^_^ or at least in Shippuden. Anyways, here is the plot:**

**Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura are two of the FBI's most valuable agents. Too bad they just can't get along. But when they find themselves in a dangerous lifegambling game, they'll have to put their differences aside and deal with it or else. SasuSaku**

**Main Pairing: Sasuke x Sakura, Gaara x OC (because I like him xD)**

**Minor Pairings: Naruto x Hinata, Ino x Kiba, Neji x Tenten, **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. If I did, I'd be rich :D**

**Somewhere In Tokyo**

A young man was seated on a black rolling chair in the basement of an old, abandoned house. The only light source was the computer screen that shown brightly in the room. He wore a hideous grin as he read over a certain letter on his computer. Then, letting out a crazed crackle, his finger hovered over the 'Send' button.

"With this," he said," the game begins."

And that was the start of a living nightmare for the Japanese FBI.

**Tokyo City, Japan; FBI building**

"Do you have an eight?"

"Goldfish."

"Do you have a two?"

"Goldfish."

"Do you have a Jack?"

"Yes….. do you have a nine?"

"Goldfish."

"Do you have a King?"

"Yes-"

"HAHA I WIN, DATTEBAYO!"

Everyone in the cafeteria stared at the cause of the outburst: a blonde haired teenager. He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," he squeaked before taking a seat. His friends, Sakura, Kiba, Tenten, and Ino, snickered.

"Nice one, Naruto," Sakura teased. Naruto just laughed it out and rubbed the back of his head.

"Idiot," they heard a familiar voice from behind Naruto. Just by his voice everyone knew who it was.

Meet Uchiha Sasuke, one of the most valuable agents in the organization. This dark haired, onyx-colored eyed wonder was famous among the society.

"Shut up, teme!"Naruto retorted. As you can see, the two had a bitter rivalry going on. Naruto would always try to catch up to him, but would fail as a result. And to think they were the best of friends. This truly was a case where 'opposites attract'.

"Cut it out, you guys," Sakura demanded. The pink haired 19 year old always broke up their arguments and fights. Though she was annoyed with him herself, she didn't dare pick up a fight.

Or at least not an unworthy one.

"What do you want now, Sasuke?" she asked, slightly annoyed. It was ten in the morning and just seeing his face put her in a bad mood. Before he got the chance to answer, the lazy super genius of the science department, Nara Shikamaru, approached them.

"Tsunade-sama wants Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Kiba, and Ino in her office," he announced. He knew what was going through their minds. "No, I don't know what she wants," he added.

The six listed glanced at each other and shrugged. If it was Tsunade-sama's orders, they just had to deal with it. The 52 year old woman was one of the head commanders in the organization. It was strange how despite her old age, she still looked like a 24-year-old woman.

To tell you the truth, she didn't act like a wrinkly, old prune either.

Ten minutes later, the five agents found themselves at her office. The FBI building had nearly sixty floors, and hers was at the very top. The cafeteria was on the sixteenth floor, so the ride was pretty long. During the whole ride, Naruto kept talking about what kind of ramen he had last night, so it felt even longer than usual. You couldn't imagine how thrilled everyone was when the elevator doors opened, because they all rushed out to escape the 'Ramen Talk'.

"Tsunade-sama, what is it that you need from us?" Sakura asked in a polite voice once they entered her room.

"I am assigning you to a new case," the blond woman said sternly. As she said that, the large television screen on the west wall flickered on. The blonde haired woman stood up and went over to the TV. It showed some sort of email.

"Sakura, why don't you read this for us?" It sounded more like a command instead of a question, but the teenager obeyed anyways.

"Um…. Ok…

"Dear FBI,

"I hereby declare a challenge reserved only for the best of the best. If you dare to take on this challenge, I suggest you continue reading.

"This challenge is like a game. There are fifteen levels. Each level features a mystery that you have to solve. Whether it's a murder mystery or a kidnapping crime, I expect you to solve it. If you can't, then you lose the game and Tokyo will be doomed. If you pass, you move on. I advise you to take this advice: Don't ignore this letter. I will be waiting for your reply. The deadline is twelve hours.

"If you decline, I am happy to say that I won. As a reward, I will drop a bomb and every citizen within a hundred mile radius of Tokyo will be dead. Sincerely, Ace," she finished.

"Is this a joke?" Naruto yelled. Ino whacked him on the head.

"Did you read it carefully?" she scolded. "It says 'don't ignore this letter'."

"That was a rhetorical question!"

Tsunade cleared her throat, signaling them to stop bickering. They did, knowing how she gets when angered.

"Why are you assigning us to this case? What about Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sama, and you?" Kiba asked.

Tsunade laced her fingers together and rested her chin on it. "Ace says he wants a challenge, and he demands one. Besides, you five are capable of doing a dangerous mission like this. Others will be here to help when you need it," she explained. The agents nodded.

All of a sudden, a chat message popped up.

"It's that Ace dude!" Naruto hollered. Tsunade hesitantly clicked on it and the window appeared.

'_I see you've picked your players,' _it read.

"How does he know that?" Kiba asked.

'_If you're wondering how I know, listen for a beeping sound.'_

Sasuke was the first to hear it. "I hear it," he announced and walked around the room. "Get me a chair." Naruto wasted no time retrieving a tall stool. The Uchiha climbed onto it. He felt around the ceiling tiles and lightly pushed up. It lifted with ease and his hand snuck into the vents. Out came a beeping walkie talkie.

Ino broke the silence. "So this is how he knows what we're talking about!"

_Anyways, on with the subject. The first notification card will be sent in twenty four hours. I'll be generous and let you rest before the big day. Don't try anything funny like tracing my email, because I'll send you a deadly virus if you do. Play fair and you live.'_

"Wait a minute, what about-"But before the blonde haired woman could finish her sentence, Ace signed out.

With all his strength, Sasuke threw the talkie at the ground and stomped on it, crushing the device. "We can't risk him hearing what we're planning," he explained. "If he managed to plant the talkie here, it must mean he has someone working for him."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Be on your guard, but I doubt he'll try anything funny during these following twenty-four hours," Tsunade reasoned. Everyone nodded. "Have a good rest tonight. I will call you to my office at eleven a.m. and be ready."

With that, she dismissed them.

_This, _Sasuke smirked, _is going to be interesting. Let the game begin._

**That's it for now! ^_^ Comment please! I want to see what you think! If you flame or bash, it's only going to be a waste of your time because I don't care about that XD Constructive criticism is allowed if it helps me ^^ COMMENT PLEASE!**


	2. The Justice Site

**This is a non-massacre story! Sasuke's family is still alive, but he hates Itachi as in sibling rivalry. Anyways, on with the story!**

The next day, everything went as scheduled. The agents woke up and were ready at Tsunade's office by 11 a.m. sharp. The card had arrived just on time.

"Level One: The Justice Site," Tsunade read.

"The justice site?" Naruto repeated.

"Shh!" Ino hissed. "Let her finish!"

Naruto shrunk back, but obeyed. Why was _he _always the one that got in trouble? Tsunade cleared her throat before continuing.

"Go to the website located at the bottom of this card. Your goal is to find out who the creator of this site is. Let's see how many people get hurt before you succeed."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the black and silver card and started typing rapidly. The five agents went over to her desk to take a better looked at the computer monitor.

".nr?" Naruto read the URL. "What a weird name for a website."

The computer loaded. As soon as it was done, a gothic-looking site popped up.

Kiba exclaimed," look, there's nearly six hundred fans already!"

Tsunade clicked at a button that read 'Request'. Unfortunately, a window popped up demanding a login to view the site. "Username and password?" Ino read. Sasuke picked up the notification card.

"The user is 'SHINIGAMI' and the password is 'Revenge'," he informed.

Tsunade typed in the information and the window disappeared, being replaced by a page with a chat box, a description, and a list of rules.

"Rule Number One," Kiba read," you must remain loyal to the community. If not, you will be severely punished by the Shinigami."

"Rule Number Two," Ino said," you may request more than once after your first has been fulfilled."

"Rule Number Three: don't mock the site, dattebayo," Naruto recited.

Tsunade went next. "Rule Four: don't try to find the Shinigami."

"Rule Five," Sakura spoke," no false information."

The last rule was read by Sasuke. "And Rule Six: Break any of these rules, and you'll find yourself in a dangerous, life-threatening situation. Those who betray others will be punished. We do not tolerate traitors."

Tsunade enlarged the chat box into a small window. They read the requests all together.

_Take care of Akiyama Kaname. He's a third year high school student at Kuran Academy, and he cheated on me three times._

_Kurosaki Amaye is a two face. _

_Yamato Misaki, she pushed me down the stairs and broke my leg and ankle._

"Wow, these people really are revenge-obsessed," Kiba commented. "I mean, look at this! I can't believe there are so many bad people in the world!"

Sasuke took control of the mouse from Tsunade and clicked on the "Status" page. "First on the list is Kuroda Seiji," he said. "It says he'll be punished at twelve thirty today. The reason being he's a host even after being married. The place is-"

"Sakahi Bridge!" Naruto interrupted.

"From here to there would be about forty minutes with traffic," Kiba concluded.

"It's eleven thirty six," Ino stated. "We have about an hour to get there in time!"

Sakura nodded her head. "Let's go," she said.

**[ Sakahi Bridge; 12:20 ]**

They had split up into two groups. Each group settled at each end of the bridge. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were at the north end while Kiba and Ino covered the south. Seiji wasn't aware of them being there. He just stood at the edge of the bridge as if waiting for someone to come out.

"Who do you think he's waiting for, dattebayo?" Naruto asked softly. Their talkie was in the safe hands of Sakura.

"Probably someone he met at the host club," Sakura whispered back.

Sasuke stared into the pair of binoculars. "Hey, teme, let me look," Naruto suddenly said, attempting to snatch the object out of his hands. Sasuke yanked it away from his hands. "_I'm_ looking," was all he said.

"I said let _me_ take a look!"

"Shut up, dobe! You're going to blow our cover!"

"Give me the-"

"Guys, be quiet! Someone's coming!" they heard Kiba hissed into the talkie. Sasuke looked into the binoculars and the three watched as a man in black approached Seiji, carrying a briefcase. "What's happening?" Sakura asked the Uchiha in a low whisper. He didn't answer her question. Instead, he motioned them to follow him.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Kiba came out from their hiding spot and ran to the two. The man had just handed Seiji the case.

The mystery guy became fully alert of the situation and started running in Kiba's direction. Kiba caught and fired a punch at him, but the man caught his wrist and forced him down before running off. Ino jumped out of her hiding spot. Behind her, a black SUV arrived down the road going about 80 miles per hour. Either Ino had to move, or she was going to be flatten like a pancake.

"Ino, behind you!" Sakura warned. The blonde haired girl successfully jumped out the way in time before the SUV had the opportunity to crush her. The black car stopped next to the man, who climbed on. Then it quickly drove away, leaving the five of them in the dust.

"He got away," Sakura growled, tightening her knuckles until they turned white.

"It's fine," Kiba said, "as long as Kuroda-san is okay."

They looked back at Seiji to see him quite surprised. I mean, who wouldn't be? "Who are you?" he demanded.

Sasuke took out his badge and held it up. "The Japanese FBI," he answered.

"What are you _doing_ here?"

Naruto began explaining the situation. Once the blond finished, the man let out a hearty laugh. "So you mean you are all FBI agents and I am a victim of a dangerous Justice site?" He laughed when they nodded, earning odd looks. "That is ridiculous."

"Why would we be lying then?" Naruto spoke.

Seiji laughed once more. "Stop messing with me! That guy was merely a guy paying me for extra service."

Ino and Sakura exchanged glances. They both knew all five agents were thinking the same thing. _Extra service? _

Seiji shook his head. "Don't get the wrong idea. Besides, inside is money."

A ring disrupted the intense moment. Seiji tucked the case under his arm and reached in his pocket to pull out his cell phone. "Hello?" he asked into the receiver. There was a pause. "What? What do you mean you're canceling? Did you just-?"

Silence once again.

"You're saying you're stuck in traffic right now?"

Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Ino, and Kiba looked at each other with an intense look. "It really was the Shinigami after all," said Ino.

Seiji hung up and put his phone back into his pocket. "So if Kazune is stuck in traffic, then what's this?"

Sakura took the briefcase out of Seiji's hands. She handed it to Ino, who held it as the pink haired girl unlocked it and lifted off the lid. What they saw caused the girls to scream and drop the case.

Out crawled a rattlesnake.

Everyone quickly backed away as the snake slithered away peacefully down the road and away from them.

Seiji was bewildered. "I-It's true!" he exclaimed in terror. "Someone's out to get me!"

"Along with two hundred other people in Tokyo," Sakura added. Her attention shifted to her companions. "We need to find out who this 'Shinigami' is. From the looks of it, he doesn't play around." Everyone besides the Uchiha nodded.

Kiba spoke up. "We need to see who the next victim is before something else happens." They sent Seiji free and climbed into their minivan, Kiba in the front seat. Then they left the bridge, unaware that a certain someone was watching them.


	3. Unfortunate Incident

**Thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate them ^_^ Enjoy the story! :D**

Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Kiba, and Naruto found themselves in the cafeteria two hours later. Ino, who was on her laptop, was exploring the Justice site.

"Is the 'Shinigami' and Ace the same person, dattebayo?" Naruto asked before slurping up noodles from his freshly made ramen lunch.

"I doubt it," Sasuke answered. "If that's true, the game will be over the minute we catch the Shinigami. Ace is the mastermind, so he most likely hired the 'Shinigami'."

"And that means they must have a way to communicate with each other...," Ino thought aloud.

Sakura grinned and slammed her hands onto the table, startling everyone. "That's it!" she exclaimed happily, but made sure to keep her voice low enough to only be loud amongst the group. "Maybe we can find out who Ace is if we capture 'Shinigami'!"

Kiba thought about it, and then shook his head. "No, it's too risky. Remember, he said to play fair or else."

"Well, the point of the game is to find out who Ace is."

"Wrong," Sasuke interrupted," the point of the game is to win and survive."

The pinkette muttered something under her breath, resulting in Sasuke smirking.

"The next victim is up!" Ino suddenly informed. Everyone crowded around her. "Akiyama Kaname," Kiba read. "It's the third year cheater."

"The location is at Kuran Academy's roof in-" Sakura was rudely interrupted by Naruto.

"Thirty minutes?" the blonde exclaimed very loudly.

The whole cafeteria looked at them once more, but returned to their normal activities, now realizing it became the daily routine.

"Quiet down, Naruto!" Sakura hissed. He grinned sheepishly.

"Look up Kuran Academy's address," Sasuke ordered. Ino nodded her head and began typing. "It'll take forty minutes to get there," she said and shook her head. "We won't make it."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "No way, dattebayo! It's too early to give up! It also won't help if we just stand here and talk, so let's get a move on, dattebayo!"

** [ Kuran Academy Rooftop ]**

17 year old Kaname was waiting on the roof of his school. He tapped his foot impatiently and checked his wristwatch located on his left arm.

The door swung open revealing a person dressed in black.

"Took you long enough," Kaname sneered quite rudely.

"Akiyama Kaname," the man in black said. His voice sounded strong, but somehow fake.

"Who are you? What do you know about me?" Kaname demanded angrily. An hour ago, the high school student had received a phone call. Someone had figured out he was cheating on four different girls at once, and threatened to tell them all if he didn't come to the school roof in the following hour.

The man in black didn't reply. Instead, he walked over to the unfenced area of the dangerous rooftop and turned around, taking out four different pictures, each featuring Kaname with a different girl.

"Yuki, Kurumi, Sumire, and Akemi will be _prett-y _ _angr-y _if they found out your secret," the mysterious guy taunted.

Kaname, out of rage, charged at the blackmailer. Unfortunately for him, his opponent was faster. Instead of getting tackled, the man grabbed hold of the third year's arm and gave him a strong push, sending him flying off of the school roof.

**[ In the Minivan ]**

"Hurry up, Kiba! We barely have a minute left, dattebayo!" Naruto rushed.

"Shut up! You're not the one driving! Besides, we're here!" the pissed off brown haired boy exclaimed as he pulled up to the school grounds. Everyone immediately rushed out. From below, they could see Kaname with a mysterious man dressed in black.

"We didn't make it in time!" Ino cried.

She was dreadfully right. They watched in horror as Kaname lunged at the man, who grabbed his arm and pushed him off the roof. Before anyone could react, the third year landed with a sickening crunch onto the paved ground. They all ran over to him.

Sakura immediately checked his pulse. "He's still alive, but barely. Call the ambulance!"

Ino nodded and pulled out her cell phone. Naruto looked up to see the man started to back off.

"Kiba, Sasuke, dattebayo!" he informed. His comrades didn't need to be told twice. The three of them dashed towards the stairs and headed up.

They split up. Naruto stayed on the second floor as Kiba and Sasuke continued upwards. Just as they stepped onto the next floor, they saw the stranger come down and run down the hallway, hoping to escape using the emergency ladder.

Like Kiba was going to let that happen.

Being the athletic one, he picked up his pace and tackled the man to the floor. They both landed with a loud 'thud' and Sasuke soon caught up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"You're under arrest."

**[ Tsunade's Office ]**

"Yes, I understand... That's good. At least it isn't that long... Oh, that's serious... I see. Bye." With that, Tsunade ended her phone conversation.

"How's Kaname?" Kiba questioned.

Tsunade ran her fingers through her blonde locks. "The doctor says he has a concussion, five fractured ribs, and two broken bones. Thankfully, that's all he loss," she answered.

"What does the site say now?" Ino asked tiredly.

"Why don't you come over and look?" the woman replied.

The five dragged their bodies over to the computer. Before they could even read the status list, a chat box popped up.

"It's from Ace, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed.

'_What do you think? Is it too hard for you? And I thought you would put up a fight. What are you going to do now? Are you going to quit like the chickens I know you are? _

Naruto growled. "Who do you think he is, dattebayo?" he yelled angrily.

"Calm down, Naruto. He's trying to get you angry on purpose," Tsunade said.

"But-"

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?" Ino interrupted. They all watched as the Uchiha took control of the keyboard and mouse. He clicked on the 'Request' button and typed in the chat box.

_Take on Uchiha Sasuke. Take on Uchiha Sasuke. Take on Uchiha Sasuke. Take on Uchiha Sasuke. Take on Uchiha Sasuke. Take on Uchiha Sasuke._ _Take on Uchiha Sasuke. Take on Uchiha Sasuke. Take on Uchiha Sasuke._

He continued typing that nearly twenty more times.

This puzzled everyone, before it all clicked. All of their eyes widened. Once he stopped, he got away from the group and exited the room. Everyone stared at the door before their eyes averted towards the screen.

"Don't tell me teme…," Naruto trailed off.

Tsunade nodded firmly. "He's challenging the 'Shinigami'."

**Oh yeah, a cliffhanger! XD Will Sasuke survive what the 'Shinigami' has in store for him? Or will everything go wrong? Find out in the next chapter!**

**Updated: August 13, 2010**


	4. The Shinigami Revealed

**[ The Next Day ]**

Everyone was hanging around Naruto's office.

Yesterday, the man in black turned out to be a high schooler that apparently went out with Misa, a girl that got cheated and dumped by Kaname. According to him, the Shinigami bribed him to go and deal with the 3rd year.

All of that work and they _still _hadn't caught the culprit.

The blond himself was keeping track of all the updates going on at the Justice website. Sasuke was reading a book as the others were playing Blackjack. It was 2 PM and there was no sign of activity from Shinigami _or _Ace.

However, reading the request chat box was interesting. For the pass five hours, the quirky blond had been reading comments about Sasuke's challenge. Soon, he began losing interest and went to his email account. When he returned to the page, he was surprised.

"The 'Shinigami' updated, dattebayo!" Naruto hollered. Everyone immediately rushed over.

"The next target is Uchiha Sasuke," Kiba read. "Uchiha, if you're reading this, I challenge you to go to Sakihara Train Station at 6:00 PM today. Unlike the other times, I will be the one that deals with you today- face to face. Stand in line for the Kyoto route. Give me twenty minutes and I'll prove you wrong."

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "Do you think you can do this?" he asked.

The dark haired boy didn't seem a bit frightened at the situation. Instead, to their surprise, he smirked.

"I like a challenge."

**[ Sakihara Train Station; 6:00 ]**

Everything was set.

They had set up a plan. They had their friends, Lee, Tenten, and Neji to help them.

Tenten specialized in weapons. Nunchuks, knives, guns, swords, you name it all. She could even shoot from 10 yards away and still make a perfect score on her shooting exams. Neji and Lee exceeded in karate, taekwondo, and judo. They were both fast and strong.

Naruto and Tenten were stationed at the two nearest stair cases of the subway. Unfortunately, this was rush hour. Luckily, there weren't as much people as a few hours ago.

Neji and Lee were positioned near Sasuke. If anyone came near him, they'd sprint into action. Kiba was stationed at a bench, pretending to read a newspaper. He kept watch out nearby thanks to his keen eyesight and sharp hearing.

Sakura was the nearest near the Uchiha. She was standing two people from behind him in the line to Kyoto. Her spot gave her access to help the dark haired boy in the shortest amount of time.

Lastly, Ino stood mid-way on the stairs. There, she could spy what was going on easily and be able to warn the others if something suspicious happened.

The plan was escape proof.

A figure swiftly made his way towards his target. Dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, he fitted in easily with the crowd. Of course, his hood was up, but no one should really care. He looked normal after all.

Ino scanned the scene from above with her binoculars. Everything looked normal to her. Then something caught her eye. It didn't particularly stand out, but she had an uneasy feeling the moment she laid eyes among the hooded figure making his way to Sasuke.

Why did it bother her so much? She had no idea.

Sasuke just kept looking forward. All of a sudden, he felt someone shove him.

It wasn't one of those 'Oops, I'm sorry I accidentally bumped into you' pushes. It was forceful- too hard to be an accident. The Uchiha lost his footing and fell onto the subway tracks with a loud groan.

To others, it may have looked light. Sakura and the others, however, knew better. "Sasuke!" the pinked haired girl called out. She made his way to the front of the line and looked down. There, on the hard tracks, was Sasuke, scrambling to get up.

"Get the guy in the black hoodie and jeans!" Ino ordered into the radio. Her comrades didn't have to be told twice. Lee, Neji, and Kiba sprinted after their target.

"Sasuke, give me your hand!" Sakura ordered. He obeyed, and the teenage girl started pulling him up. His feet barely lifted two inches above the ground.

"This is pointless, Sakura," he said. "I'll wait until the workers come."

The second he said that, a faint light appeared down the dark tunnel. It took them a split second to figure out what was happening: train was heading their way.

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed once again, using all her strength to pull him up. Still, it remained futile.

"It's not working, Sakura!" the raven-haired teen realized. "We won't make it in time!"

"**Do you want to die**?"

"I won't make it-"

"**Shut up!"**

A rush of adrenaline ran through Sakura's veins. Slowly, Sasuke's feet began lifting off the ground.

"Hurry, the train's coming!" she rushed. _Almost there_.

The light was coming closer and closer.

It was only fifteen meters from the station.

Twelve…

Ten…

Seven…

Three…

One…

With one final pull, Sasuke sprawled onto the platform before the train got the chance to crush him to death. The two were both huffing in and out heavily. "That… was… so close…," Sakura said between pants.

"Ah…..."

"Hey!" Ino's voice rang into the radio. "Are you guys alright?"

"Y-Yeah…," Sakura informed," Sasuke's fine."

"What about… the… Shinigami?" Sasuke asked.

"We caught him!"

**[ The Questioning Room ]**

"Why'd you do it?" Tsunade demanded, slamming her hands onto the table. In front of her sat a disinterested 17 year old teenager with raven hair named Akio. He remained silent.

"Why'd you do it?" Tsunade raised her voice.

"Look, I have no intention of telling you, and you can't make me," he replied quite rudely. Everyone cringed. They knew how bad Tsunade could get when angered. To their surprise, she faked a smile and started pacing around the room with light steps, wearing a victorious grin.

"You're right. We can't make you talk. Only you have that option. However, I do like to inform you that we found this," she held up a picture of him and a pretty brunette," in your apartment."

Akio snapped.

"You looked at my stuff?" he yelled angrily.

Tsunade smirked. "Akio, Akio, Akio, you've underestimated us. The FBI has every right to search your apartment now that you're caught red-handed. Now calm down and answer our questions before we find this girl and bring her here."

The raven haired boy glared at her, but reluctantly sat down. "Fine, I'll tell you everything," he surrendered. "Just don't harm Ari."

From outside the screen wall, Ino gave a small warm smile.

"Looks like underneath that blood-thirsty, revenge-filled heart, he cares about his girlfriend," she said in awe. "Now that's what I call faithful."

Tsunade actually gave Akio a real smile; that is, before it turned into a slightly evil grin. "Tell us everything you know about Ace and why you did what you did," she demanded.

Akio hesitated before answering. "Two weeks ago, Ace called me and told me to meet him at a restaurant. He asked me if I wanted to play a small game with him, and I said yes. He told me everything about revenge and how I could get back at those who needed to taste their own medicine."

"Why'd you do it?"

Akio looked away, expression faltering. "Those who need to be punished should be. It's not fair for innocent people."

"Is there something you'd like to tell us about your past?"

Akio took a deep breath. "Someone… kill my sister, and he was found, but let off because he bailed out."

"Give us the information how you connect with Ace."

"I-… I don't have it. Ace told me to destroy all of the evidence."

Tsunade eyed him dangerously. "Don't test me."

"I'm not testing you!"

Tsunade let out a frustrated sigh, but quickly recomposed herself. "Fine- just let me remind you that you'll be spending your life in jail for the next twenty years of your life." She then turned to the five viewing the scene behind the screen door. "You're free to go."

With that, they all left. But very soon, they would find themselves in a dangerous situation once more.

**[ Two Days Later ]**

Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Kiba, and Ino were gathered in Tsunade's office once again.

"Guys," Tsunade announced," we've got the next notification letter."

This sparked their interest. For the past 2 days, they've been looking forward towards the next level. To be honest, life felt useless without any excitement in their life. This challenge certainly added some thrills, and sometimes not good ones.

"What does it say?" Naruto hollered energetically.

"Level Two," Tsunade held up the opened black card," The California Cruise Case."

**This is kind of longer than usual, but there's the conclusion for the first level! Was it too rushed, or is it okay just the way it is? Tell me what you think ^_^ **

**Updated: August 15, 2010**


	5. 2 New Companions

**K, guys, I really like the reviews ^_^ I'm glad that you like this story so far! **

"All aboard!"

"Whoa, this place is awesome, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed.

The 5 agents stood on the sky deck of a gigantic cruise ship, thirty-five minutes pass take off time. It didn't take them long to get situated. As Sakura gazed at the horizon, she thought back to the morning of the previous day- the day when they received the notification card for level 2.

**[ Flashback ; Two Days Ago]**

_"Level Two," Tsunade held up the black notification card," the California Cruise Case."_

_Naruto ran over and snatched the card out of her hands, earning a disapproving look from the blond woman, which he ignored and started reading aloud._

_"Congratulations on passing the first level. For this level, attend the ball held on the California Cruise Ship held three days from today at seven pm," Naruto read._

_By now, everyone was crowded around Naruto except Tsunade, who reached into her jacket pocket and slipped out a black card that was only a quarter in size compared to the notification card._

_"Here, Ino," Tsunade said. Ino retrieved the card and Sakura began reading from over her best friend's shoulder. _

_"Hints: Disappearance, First Son, Dragon, Light, " Sakura read._

_"What does 'disappearance', 'first son', 'dragon', and 'light' have to do anything with this?" Ino thought aloud._

_"Disappearance means someone is going to disappear on the ship, dattebayo," Naruto observed._

_Kiba rolled his eyes. "Thanks genius."_

"_**SHUT UP!"**_

_"Then what does 'first son', 'dragon', and 'light' have to do with anything?" Sakura wondered._

_Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "It's a hint, so most likely the first son is going to be kidnapped."_

_"But the question is which first son," Ino started catching on. She earned a nod from the Uchiha. _

_"There's one more thing," Tsunade interrupted. All attention averted to her. Seeing that she's captured everyone's attention, she continued: "There'll be two people joining you in the investigation. You'll meet them on the ship."_

_Naruto beamed. "Really? Who are they? Do we know them? Why are they joining? I want to know, dattebayo!"_

"_Shut up Naruto!" Ino, Sakura, and Kiba all hollered in unison._

_"One person, you do know. The other with him is a trainee."_

_"Who is it?" Sakura asked._

_"Their names are Sabaku no Gaara and Kawamura Minako."_

**[ End of Flashback ]**

"Where's Gaara? I want to see him again, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed happily. "It's been nearly six months since we last saw him! He said he had to return back to his home town with Temari and Kankuro because of a training session, dattebayo. I didn't think he was the one training someone else!"

Kiba nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, Gaara's cool. His sister and Shikamaru had a thing going, _if you know what I mean_."

"How come I never got to meet Gaara?" Sakura asked.

"I think you had a mission in Kyoto when he came back to visit for two weeks," Ino answered.

"What's he like?"

"Well, he has red hair, aquamarine eyes, and a tattoo on his forehead that reads 'love', dattebayo," Naruto remembered.

"Even though he's cool, he's kind of like Sasuke. He doesn't crack a single emotion- doesn't laugh or anything," Kiba said, causing the Uchiha to twitch.

"Basically, Gaara's a robot with a human heart, dattebayo," Naruto said, earning four strange looks.

"That doesn't help much, but okay," Sakura jumped in before the blond could say anything stranger.

"Don't listen to this idiot," Kiba interrupted," Gaara _does _have a heart and he's human."

"Why thank you."

Everyone besides Sasuke jumped. They jerked around to see the redhead himself, standing beside an orange haired girl. He wore a blank expression, similar to the one Sasuke usually had. The girl, however, appeared the complete opposite. She was grinning and actually looked sociable.

"I'm guessing you guys are in the investigation," she assumed.

Sakura nodded, holding out her hand. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"Inuzuka Kiba."

"Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!"

"Yamanaka Ino, nice to meet you."

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Minako beamed. "I'm Kawamura Minako. I'm pretty sure you know Gaara already." They nodded. "We're aware of the situation. Maybe we should talk in our room, you know, where no one else can hear." They all agreed. Minako and Gaara led them to their cabin. Well, Minako led them. Gaara just walked beside her, hands in pockets and silent.

"So, Minako-chan," Naruto spoke up," how long have you two known each other, dattebayo?"

"Gaara's been teaching me for four months now."

Ino piped up. "How did you break through his emotionless wall?"

Minako laughed when she saw the redhead shot Ino a look.

"It was hard, but he eventually got used to me," she answered.

They entered her room. There were two individual beds set on each half of the room. "What's the plan going to be?" Kiba spoke up. "I mean, you can't expect us to get onto the action field without thinking how we're going to do it."

"Since Kiba's strength is speed and senses, Naruto's is stamina, Sasuke's and Gaara's are power, Minako's is weapon usage, and mine and Ino's are intelligence, let's do this: Ino, you, Minako, and Gaara will stay inside just in case something happens. The rest of us will guard the outside, so no one can escape without us knowing."

They all agreed.

"Minako, what do you have with you right now?" the pink haired girl asked.

"Well...," she went over to her large suitcase on her bed and pulled out a fairly large case. She opened the case.

They all gaped with the exception of Gaara and Sasuke. Though the Uchiha had to admit, it was cool, yet mortifying at the same time.

"A Browning 9x19mm Hi-Power, a rifle, three pairs of chains, a BB gun, a pair of nunchuks, a poison dart gun, eight smoke bombs, anesthesia medicine, and sleeping pills."

"She's a maniac," Gaara pointed out.

They all nodded like obedient little kids.

"Note to self: never anger Minako-chan, dattebayo," Naruto muttered.


	6. Blackout and the Wild Chase!

Sasuke was walking towards his room after a small talk in Gaara's room. As he turned the corner, his dark orbs were glued to the ground, resulting in a crash with another body. He looked up from the ground to see a man wearing a gray suit, eyes covered by a light gray hat. He couldn't help but notice the strange mismatch: this man was wearing sneakers with a suit.

"I'm sorry!" the man cried, though he sounded slightly fake. "I didn't see you there!"

"Hn," the agent replied, uninterested.

As the man smiled back and started to leave, a thought entered the Uchiha's brain.

'Odd. Who wears sneakers with a tux?'

Pushing the thought aside, Sakura went on with his journey towards his room. But why did he have a bad feeling about this?

**X X X**

As planned, Ino, Minako, and Gaara were stationed inside the ballroom, disguising themselves as normal guests. That is, if normal guests hid a small dart gun under their coat like Minako did. The others kept watch from outside on the sky deck, each spread out to cover more space. Each had a pair of radio sets that attached onto their ears for communication.

From inside the ballroom, Ino explored the room, looking everywhere from the gigantic cake to the large white projection screen on the stage.

Honestly, they made it look as if someone was getting married.

Gaara and his assistant stayed at the food table, mainly because Minako felt starved. "Nothing's happening right now," the 18 year old informed into the radio. She heard static from the other lines as Gaara replied," Just keep watching. Something will definitely happen." The agent in training nodded and went back to searching the room. She was interrupted by the loud 'clinking' of a spoon hitting a champagne class into the microphone. All attention averted towards the man standing in front of the podium located on the stage.

He appeared in his mid-50's with his gray hair. He cleared his throat before starting.

"Excuse me? May I have your attention?" The room quickly silenced and he continued on. "As you may know, I am Hasashi Wataru from the Hasashi industries located in Tokyo, Japan. This banquet is a feast to celebrate my first son who had just recently took over the company." A young man in his early 20's stood up from his seat and headed toward Wataru. From what they heard, the five inferred it was Ichiro. Then, as if their brains connected, they almost all gasped.

"It's the 'first son', dattebayo!" Naruto hollered into his radio.

Wataru lifted his champagne glass. "To Hasashi Ichiro and Hasashi industries!" he grinned cheerfully.

Everyone mimicked his actions. "To Hasashi Ichiro and Hasashi industries!" they congratulated. With that, everyone drank from their glass. Before they knew it, the party resumed to its original activities.

"Guys," Naruto spoke into the talkie," I think something's about to happen, dattebayo."

"Why do you think that?" Ino's voice rang.

All of a sudden, there was a blackout.

"Someone just toyed with the power generator, dattebayo!" the blonde shouted loudly into his radio. But no one complained. Instead, they all sprinted into action.

From inside, the three agents took noticed of two men lying on the stage unconscious.

"What happened to Ichiro and Wataru-san?" Minako asked.

Ino quickly ran over to the bodies, followed by a redhead and the agent-in-training.

"They've been drugged," she informed. "It's most likely because someone put something in their wine."

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke noticed a man in a large brown trench coat made his way out of the ballroom and away from the sky deck. The Uchiha looked back at his comrades. Without another thought, he made a beeline towards the man. As if sensing him, the mysterious male turned around and started his escape, dodging various people and obstacles in the way.

Gaara, Minako, and Ino rushed outside to aid their teammates. "What happened to Wataru-san?" Sakura asked frantically.

"He's been drugged. It's most likely the culprit's doing," Gaara stated.

Ino took notice of the one missing person. "Hey guys," she started," where's Sasuke-kun?"

**X X X **

Speed.

That was what mattered right now.

_Dang it, _the young Uchiha screamed, _if only I had Kiba's speed. _

But no, he just couldn't let go of his stupid pride and asked his super-fast teammate for support.

Blame the Uchihas and their pride.

The man stole a glance from over his shoulder and spotted the highly trained FBI agent on his tail. Behind his dark sunglasses, he narrowed his eyes and snuck behind the doors of the stairways. Ironic how nobody seemed to appear in their path.

As Sasuke raced after the culprit, his mind couldn't help but wander to what the others were doing.

**X X X**

"Ino, you and Kiba try to switch the lights back on. While you're at it, try to calm the guests. We can't have two hundred people running around frantically," Sakura explained, receiving nods from her two trusty companions. "Gaara, you and Minako search the lobby and the forbidden areas. Once you're done, meet back near the ballroom. Meanwhile, Naruto and I will scout the cabins and hallways."

With that, they were all off.

**X X X**

Three yards.

A meter.

That was all it took for Sasuke to catch up.

And...

"ARGH!" The mystery man grunted loudly as he was tackled to the ground. The Uchiha quickly reached into his pocket to pull out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed the man. He smirked as he heard to clicks, causing the culprit to stop struggling.

"Tell me who you are, what you did, and what you're planning," he demanded before standing upright and yanking the man beside him. The Uchiha also took off the dark rims, revealing terrified green orbs.

"Please! Spare me! I only did this because someone paid me two hundred bucks!" he pleaded. "I honestly don't know anything! Please don't hurt me!"

The dark haired boy glared.

"Who told you to do it?"

"I don't know, but he was wearing a black suit and a gray hat, along with tennis shoes!"

The Uchiha's eyes widened as he recalled an event right before the party.

_Sasuke was walking towards his room after a small talk in Gaara's room. As he turned the corner, his dark orbs were glued to the ground, resulting in a crash with another body. He looked up from the ground to see a man wearing a gray suit, eyes covered by a light gray hat. He couldn't help but notice the strange mismatch: this man was wearing sneakers with a suit._

_"I'm sorry!" the man cried, though he sounded slightly fake. "I didn't see you there!"_

_"Hn," the agent replied, uninterested._

_As the man smiled back and started to leave, a thought entered the Uchiha's brain._

_'Odd. Who wears sneakers with a tux?'_

_Pushing the thought aside, Sakura went on with his journey towards his room. But why did he have a bad feeling about this?_

"Sasuke!"

"Sasuke teme!"

The dark haired teen jerked around to see his two comrades, Naruto and Sakura, entering the hall. "Sakura, dobe, this idiot says someone else paid him to do this," he informed. Emerald and cerulean colored orbs widened in unison.

"So does that mean...," Sakura started as Sasuke nodded and finished.

"The real culprit is still hidden in the ballroom."

**X X X**

"Here, got it."

Every single power source on the ship was activated as it was before. Ino and Kiba exchanged looks as they closed the power box and returned outside to meet Gaara and Minako.

"Where're the others?" Kiba questioned, scouting the area. Minako shrugged as the redhead looked unfazed. "Looks like you calmed them down," she observed, referring to the crowd.

"I wonder what's happening with the others," Ino spoke.

As if on cue, their 3 friends, Sasuke; Sakura; and Naruto entered the scene, making their way towards the group, all panting heavily.

"Where's... I-Ichiro...?" Naruto demanded between breaths.

It was as if everything paused before Gaara and Kiba dashed into the ballroom and towards the stage. Everyone tailed behind. There, on the stage, laid a still unconscious Wataru.

But there was no sign of Ichiro anywhere.

"Where's Ichiro-san?" Minako exclaimed, bewildered.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he regained his calm posture. "He's gone. The culprit took him."

**Ooooh, what's going to happen next? Don't worry, Sasuke and Sakura will have an action scene together in the next chapter ^_^ Stay tune if you want to find out what happens!**


	7. Woman Overboard!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters! **

"I can't believe I let him slip under my nose like that!" Naruto bellowed.

"I can't believe we _all _let him slip under our noses like that," Kiba muttered.

Everyone with the exception of Sasuke were conversing in the room Naruto, Kiba, and Sasuke shared, trying to figure out a plan. He had gone out for a walk on the sky deck. It was currently nine, and the sky was as dark as a black hole except for the lights on the ship. They only had two days before they docked onto the harbor of California, and they better solve the case unless they wanted Toyko to become ruins.

"I'm going to go get some fresh air," Sakura suddenly announced. Everyone watched as she got up from her position and exited the room quietly.

"What's wrong with her?" Ino mumbled, receiving 3 shrugs.

As Sakura made her way towards the sky deck, she spotted one of Hisashi's acquaintances at the party.

_What was his name again? _She asked. _And why's he acting so sneaky? _Indeed he was. The middle aged man was edging slowly across the deck as if escaping from the press. _I wonder where he's going… _

And so she decided to follow him. Five minutes later, he led her to a deserted part of the ship.

"All right, where are you, Sebastian?" he called out. Sakura slipped behind the wall and slightly peered around the corner. To her surprise, a hooded figure emerged from the shadows, who she assumed was named 'Sebastian'.

"I'm assuming you're Akutsu Ryuu," the figure said. The man nodded. "Now where's the _stuff_?"

All of a sudden, the figure pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to Ryuu's face. Five seconds later, the man dropped his arms limply by his side.

Then it all made sense.

Ryuu meant 'dragon' in Japanese.

And this 'dragon' was getting kidnapped.

Exactly what the hints had stated.

Unknown to her, she was followed by Sasuke, who had saw her sneaking around behind the man several minutes ago. _What's going on? _The Uchiha asked himself. _I can't hear anything._ He was startled when the hooded figure drugged the man. He was especially surprised when Sakura revealed her hiding spot by rushing towards the pair.

The Uchiha watched, gritting his teeth, as the pink haired agent attempted to land a punch on the figure's face, resulting in him dropping Ryuu.

Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned.

'Sebastian' struggling away from her grip. Instead of knocking her out, he pushed her towards the edge of the ship. The next thing they knew, she was sent tumbling off the ship and into the cold water of the ocean.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Sakura!" he called out and dashed towards the scene.

Sebastian noticed this and quickly collected Ryuu's body before running away. Sasuke's eyes flickered from Sebastian to the sea, then back to Sebastian. They had gotten quite far by now. He had two options: either go after them and forget Sakura, or save his companion from drowning and let them go. He leaned over the rail and cursed when his comrade wasn't in sight.

Without another thought, the dark haired wonder climbed upon the railing and leaped into the cold waters below in search of his teammate.

In the depths of the sea, Sakura sank deeper and deeper. She was dead tired, and her body felt numb from the freezing liquid surrounding her body. Slowly, her vision turned black. But before it did, she saw someone reach out for her.

And the last thought that entered her mind was his name: Uchiha Sasuke.

**X X X**

_Dammit Sakura! _

Sasuke reached for her hand. As soon as it came into contact, he pulled her into his body, hoping to add some body warmth for the both of them. Then he headed up until he surfaced with a huge wheeze.

He looked up, but no one was in sight. His attention averted to the unconscious pink haired girl in his arms. "Oi, Sakura, wake up!" he yelled.

No response.

"Oi, Sakura! Wake up before we _both_ die!"

Still no response.

_Don't tell me I have to do CPR. Does it even work in the water? _He gazed upon the still unconscious girl in his arms. _It's worth a try._

Without another sound, he spun her around, lifted her chin, supported her with his other hand, and pressed his soft lips to hers. A warm sensation surged through his body, but he ignored it and repeated the action after no reaction. As he pulled back to take in another breath, Sakura spurted out the water that originally rested in her lungs.

You couldn't imagine how happy Sasuke was at that time.

**Ten Minutes Later**

"Sakura-chan! Are you okay?" The all familiar voice of Naruto filled the air as the group with the exception of Gaara and Minako rushed to their two friends with towels wrapped around them. The rosette nodded, her wet pink curls flopping around.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sakura replied with a small smile.

"But Ryuu's gone," Sasuke reminded.

Sakura looked at them sadly. "Along with one of Ace's minions," she added quietly. Their attention averted towards two familiar figures making their way towards them.

"He's not the only person gone," Minako started, huffing in and out. The whole group gave the pair strange looks. "What do you mean?" Ino spoke up.

Gaara's eyes flashed. "Ikuzowa Hikaru, also known as the 'light', is gone too."


	8. Minako's in Trouble

"What are we going to do? We have less than two days before we arrive to California, and we better find them quick unless we want a gigantic bomb exploding Tokyo City!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Maintain yourselves," Sasuke said sternly. "We're only falling into Ace's trap if we continue to panic."

Kiba took in a deep breath. "Sorry."

"Other words," Gaara spoke," we're going to have to figure out where Ace hid them. In order to do that, we need him to target someone else."

"How are we going to do that?" Minako butted in.

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. Ino went to open the door, but when she poked her head out, but no one was seen down the hall.

"No one's here," she noted strangely. That was when she noticed a small black box with the same old black notification letter. She picked it up and brought it in.

"It looks like Ace's partner left us a little gift," Sakura stated.

"What is it, dattebayo?" Naruto wondered.

Ino slipped out the card from the silky silver ribbon before opening it. "_Seems like you need a bit of a boost. In that case, I'll give you one more chance. Sometime tomorrow, I will kidnap one of your comrades. In the box is the picture of the victim. Farewell for now, Ace_," she read.

Minako immediately snagged the box from the blonde's lap and tore it open. As soon as she opened the box, her eyes widened.

"What's wrong, Minako-chan?" Naruto asked. Her face held a terrified expression. Reaching for the box, she took out a certain photo before turning it around for them to view. They were all shocked.

"So the person Ace is kidnapping is...," Sakura trailed off.

Minako nodded. "It's me."

**X X X**

"Gaara..."

"... What?"

"Go to sleep."

"...No."

For the past thirty minutes, they'd been arguing about the current topic. Gaara refused to sleep. Lying there propped on his elbow was the redhead in all of his glory.

"Just go to sleep!"

"Fine."

Standing up to go to the restroom, he shot Minako a glance, just to see her contently smile with her eyes closed. _Jeez, that girl. _Five minutes later, he headed out to see Minako drinking some medicine. "What are you doing?" he asked, making his way to the bed.

"I have allergies."

"Ah. Where'd you get it?"

"Clinic. Anyways," she started to lie down," sweet dreams."

"Ah."

**X X X**

Gaara woke up because of a slam. Sitting up and frantically scanning the room, he was relieved to see there was nothing out of the ordinary.

That was until he noticed Minako was nowhere in sight.

The next thing he knew, he and the others were in his room conversing. Everyone jumped when Gaara all of a sudden brought his fist down onto the poor table. "I knew I shouldn't have fallen asleep!" he bellowed angrily. They were all startled to see how the usual calm, cool side of him was replaced with anger and rage.

"Chill out, Gaara!" Naruto reassured. "We'll get Minako-chan back, dattebayo!"

"Did you see anything weird before or after the kidnapping?" Sasuke interrogated. The redhead shook his head, but was interrupted when Naruto butted in.

"Ne, Gaara, does Minako-chan take sleeping pills?" he asked.

Gaara immediately raised his head. "No, but she takes allergy pills. How can you tell that there were sleeping pills in the napkin?"

"Well, Hinata-chan told me some stuff about poison and medicine. I knew it would come in handy some day, dattebayo!"

"Does Minako-chan have any kind of tracking device on her?" Sakura asked, bringing her hands to her chin.

Gaara's enraged expression quickly transformed into a curious one. "Yes, in fact she does." Then, reaching into his backpack, he took out a transmitter device. They were all dead panned.

"You keep a tracking device on Minako?" Kiba exclaimed, bewildered.

"For special reasons."

"Special reasons my ass!"

**X X X**

_Ugh… what happened…?_

Ropes trapped her hands and feet.

_Why's it so dark?_

Duck taped glued her lips together.

_Where am I?_

Then it stuck her. Green colored orbs shot open. _I've been kidnapped! Those pills were drugs! Wait-no- calm down! Maintain yourself! It 'll only get worse if I panic. Let's take this in slowly. First, find out where you are. _Minako began scanning the room slowly.

Crates and boxes filled the cramped space. The only source of light was from a small rectangular vent that featured the bright moonlight. The smell was horrible- as if an animal relieved itself more than once there.

Minako thought back to the time Gaara was training her. "_When trapped without an opening or vent, it's important to first find out how much time you have before you run out of air," he had said. _There should be about… 5 hours' worth of air. She had been kidnapped at about 8, so she had only… an hour of air left! _Calm down, Minako! You're going to make it out alive! Just believe in Gaara and the others! _

_Gaara… _She missed him already. This was the first time they've been this long away from each other since the first time they met four months ago.

Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she made out three figures- one tied to a chair, two on the floor. _The other three that disappeared!_

A bright light engulfed the room. Emerging from the light were two figures, and she knew very well they weren't Gods or angels.

"So I see you're getting frustrated," the shorter figure known as 'Sebastian'- as Sakura had described- spoke. "Your comrades will never find out where you are. As long as you remain here when this ship arrives at California, Tokyo will meet its end."

The other figure went up to the agent and pulled the tape off, freeing her mouth.

"Like Gaara's going to let you! He'll come for me!" she defended.

"Not unless there's a miracle. We're in the last place anyone would look for a person," Sebastian sneered. "The engine room's storage closet. We'll leave you soon, and in less than twenty minutes, you'll die due to lack of oxygen."

_I forgot there're four people in the room! _She realized.

"Good luck," Sebastian said," you'll need it." Laughter filled the air as they retreated, closing the door behind them. All became dark again. Minako turned to face the three terrified men. "Don't worry. I'm from the FBI, and my friends will come to rescue us," she reassured. _Hopefully. _

**15 Minutes Later**

"Where is she? Why does it take fifteen minutes to find her?" Ino rushed.

"I'm working on it!" the redhead hissed, shooting everyone glare that read 'shut up'. As soon as he said that, the beeping noise belonging to the transmitter repeated rapidly. In front of them was a door labeled 'Engine Room'.

"She's in here."

Without another word, he barged into the room to see two hooded figures guarding the room. "It's Sebastian and Ace!" Sakura cried. Almost immediately, Naruto, Kiba, and Sasuke dashed after the pair. Ace, being more experienced, expected no less and made a beeline for the door. Sebastian, however, wasn't so lucky and got caught by Naruto. Gaara went up to them and grasped Sebastian's collar harshly. The hood fell down to reveal a dark haired man with emerald orbs.

"Where's Minako?" he demanded. Sebastian just smirked. The action just made the redhead angrier. "Where is she?" he bellowed, fist coming in contact with the man's cheek. Blood trailed down Sebastian's chin.

"S-She's in the storage room." The smirk returned. "However, if you don't manage to open it in less than a minute, she- along with the other three- will die due to lack of oxygen."

"**You b-"**

"Gaara!" Sakura interrupted. "We'll deal with him later! Let's save the others for now!"

Gaara threw Sebastian a very dirty look before rushing towards the storage door. Realizing that it wouldn't open after many attemps, he cursed loudly and punched the door. "Minako! Minako! It's me, Gaara!"

From inside the locked room, the blond lifted her head, barely conscious. She was running out of air, and she was running out fast. "G-Gaara?" It came out as barely a whisper, but somehow, he managed to hear it.

"We're here! We're going to save you!" she heard Ino's voice.

Before Minako lost conscious, she let a small smile slip onto her features. And her last thoughts were: _thank you Gaara._

With one final hard shove, the door went down and they entered the room. Gaara rushed to his partner, heaving heavily, quickly untying her. As soon as the ropes loosened, she fell limply into his arms.

"She's fine- just unconscious like the others," Sakura informed. Closing his eyes, he heaved a sigh of relief. Then he looked back down to the sleeping girl in his grasp and ran his fingers down her cheek. "Thank God."

**X X X**

As soon as they reached the shore, lines of policemen and medical experts invaded the ship. Minako and the others were driven to the nearest hospital. The bad news was that Ace had gotten away. The good news, however, was that they had caught Sebastian and Minako and the others were safe.

If she wasn't, Naruto could have sworn Gaara would go on a rampage.

But all that mattered right now was that they won and everyone was safe.

"Hey, Gaara," Minako suddenly said, safely tucked into her hospital bed. It's been nearly 6 hours since the incident, and an hour since she's woken up. The redhead averted his gaze to her, and was surprised when he spotted her smiling.

"Thank you."

"…Ah."

He eyed her as the smile transformed into a smirk.

"You were worried about me, weren't you!"

"…Who said that?"

"You were yelling for me! _'Minako! Minako! It's me, Gaara!' _That was so un-Gaara like! You were _so _worried!"

"Was not."

"Was too!"

"Was not."

"Was too!"

"Was not."

"Was t-" She was caught off guard when he suddenly pulled her into a hug.

"Just don't ever do that again."

A blush crept onto her cheeks along with a smile.

"AHA! SO YOU WERE WORRIED!"

**Major Gaara x Minako chapter right there! That was kind of a long chapter, but it explains a lot and stuff xD I hope you like it! **

**Updated: March 10, 2011**


	9. Wedding Crasher

**[ Level 3: Wedding Crasher ]**

"I can't believe I have to wear a suit!" Kiba complained for the hundredth time that day. Everyone rolled their eyes, and Ino gave him a good thump on the head.

"Stop whining! You look good in it!" she retorted.

Everyone gaped. _Did Ino just admit Kiba looked attractive. _Naruto smirked at the thought. "Oi, Ino, you have the hots for him don't you?" he teased, receiving a hard kick in the shin. "OW!"

It was currently Friday, a couple days passed the California Cruise Case. Minako was up and out by Hospital Day 2 and she should have been happy, because Gaara hasn't stopped worrying since. It was obvious that the two really enjoyed each other's accompany- and not in a friend way, if you know what I mean (wink wink nudge nudge).

The notice card had been received almost a day later. It had read:

**Level Three Objective: Head to Shimura Kaito's wedding hosted at the Diamond Plaza Hotel in downtown Tokyo.**

**Level 3 Hints: Disappearance [Other hints will be delivered when the time is right]**

**I wish you the best.**

It appeared different from the other 2 cards, but it was all right as long as some information was presented. Maybe Ace had gotten frustrated- who knows?

Dressed in tuxedos and dresses, they all scouted the area. Nearly five hundred guests had arrived, and the ballroom was huge! It was miraculous how they could fit all the people inside, and still had enough room for a few hundred more. The seven maneuvered through the field of party guests and businessmen as they made their way to Kaito, the host, before splitting up. Minako, Gaara, and Naruto patrolled floor levels 20-30, where the upper guest rooms were.

Ino and Sasuke stayed on the lower parts of the hotel while Sakura and Kiba settled in the ballroom.

As soon as Kaito spotted Sakura and Kiba, he bid his business partners goodbye and smiled warmly.

"Congratulations on your wedding, Shimura-san," Sakura said with a warm smile. First impressions were key.

The man smiled. "Thank you, Sakura-san. It's a pleasure to have you here as well."

"If it's okay, may we speak to your wife?"

"Sure, right this way."Kaito led them up three floors before they reached the bride's room. When the elevator doors parted, in entered two giggling women- most likely the bridesmaid. However, the moment they noticed Kaito, they bowed in a form of respect.

"Shimura-san," they greeted politely.

"Julie, Aria," he replied. He then exited the enclosed space with Sakura and Kiba trailing behind with a shrug, They soon arrived to their designated area. Knocking on the door, a smile made its way to Kaito's face. "Koi, are you there?" he asked. There was no answer.

"Honey? Can we come in?"

There was still no answer. Something was clearly wrong.

"Honey, I'm coming in!"

Without another word, he barged into the room. Just as they expected, it appeared empty. Everything was normal, except for the out-of-place coat left on the ground. A black envelope sat upon her dresser. Kiba immediately picked it up and tore it in an animalistic manner.

"It's from Ace," he announced grimly.

Sakura pulled out her cell phone and contacted Ino. "Tell the others Hoshina-san is missing."

Kaito wore a look of grief. "Today was the day she was going to become Shimura Mai," he said lifelessly, eyes drooping. Sakura placed a reassuring hand onto his broad shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll definitely find her," she promised.

Meanwhile, Naruto occupied himself by scouting the twenty-sixth floor, muttering something about Gaara, relationship, and unfairness. Just as he was about to turn the corner and meet the elevators, he heard two voices.

"Why does that ugly piece of trash get married before us?" a female voice shrilled.

"I just hate her so much! She doesn't deserve what she's going to inherit!" another high voice agreed.

The blond haired teen darted behind the wall as footsteps headed towards him. "I wish she would just die. I mean, we're way prettier than her. Why does the little sister always get everything?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. _So they're Hoshina-san's two older sisters. Maybe they have something to do with the disappearance._

Suddenly, his phone rang. Aria and Julie jerked around as he shoved his hands into his pockets and declined the call. A tense atmosphere filled the air. _Dammit, I should have turned it on vibrate before! _He screamed in his head. Beads of sweet trailed down the side of his face as he felt the women approach the corner. Just as they were two inches away, a voice called out:

"Aria-san, Julie-san, may I have a word with you two?" a man asked.

Naruto mentally sighed and thanked the man when the footsteps were directed the opposite course. _I promise I'll go to mass every Sunday, pray every night and before eating, go to confession, and stop cursing aloud! _He thanked God in his mind. Once he was sure the three were gone, he slipped out his phone and recalled Ino. "What's up?" he asked once she picked up.

"Hoshina-san is missing!" came the other line.

**"WHAT?"**

**X X X**

"Here's the deal: Hoshina Mai is the one Ace had target. And we have less than... four hours to find her before the wedding starts. Where do we start?"

Everyone blinked. 20 different people were crammed into the same room including the seven agents, Kaito, Aria, Julie, the hotel manager and people in charge, and some other important people.

"When was the last time you visited her?" Kiba interrogated Kaito.

"A-At about six thirty," he stammered. Nearly an forty-minutes ago.

"Who has entered her room since then?" This was directed towards the whole crowd.

A couple hands flew up, and two happened to be Aria and Julie, who looked very suspicious at the moment. Instead of frustration and fright, they almost seemed... happy?

"When did you see her?" Sakura asked Mai's hairstylist.

"At about... seven," the woman answered nervously.

"Who saw her after that?"

The sisters and manager raised their hands. "I visited her shortly after that," the manager informed.

"That means Aria and Julie saw her last," concluded Minako. She then averted her attention to them. "Did you see anything suspicious?"

"No," Aria replied, flipping her long, groomed brown hair. "She was fine when we saw her."

"Until you killed her!" a man accused from the audience. This caused a riot.

"Why would you do something like that? She was your sister!"

"Sibling rivalry shouldn't get in the way on a wedding day!"

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"Be happy for your sister!"

They could all sense the sisters getting aggravated. "We didn't do anything!" Julie cried, ruffling her once perfectly neat hair. "I know you all know we didn't like her, but we really didn't do anything!"

"Then how do you explain the disappearance between the time you left her room and we arrived?" Kiba demanded.

"I don't know!" Aria hissed. "It's your job to find out, isn't it?"

**"STOP ARGUING**!" Naruto suddenly bellowed. Shocked, all gazed were directed towards him. "Look, I know so far, all evidence has been pointed to Aria and Julie."

"What are you talking about, little boy?" Julie asked, receiving a glare.

"Shh! Let me do the talking! Anyways," he cleared his throat," I know that all evidence has been pointed to them so far, but I'm certain they weren't involved in the kidnapping."

"What?" everyone exclaimed.

"Before Ino called me, I overheard Aria and Julie talking." He sensed the two felt flabbergasted. "They said something about jealousy and wishing to kill her, which means they didn't actually kidnap her. Plus, they were there the whole time, so there was no way they could have done anything. They have a perfect alibi, dattebayo!"

"If Aria and Julie are out of the picture, then who's left to commit the crime?" Ino wondered.

"In addition, where was the body placed between the time they left the room and the time we arrived?" Sakura spoke. "There was less than two minutes. In that amount of time, it's almost impossible to kidnap someone and hid them."

"Let's go back to the crime scene," Sasuke suggested.

**It's interesting so far, isn't it? The next chapter will reveal it all [;**


	10. Closed Room?

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**Chapter 10: Closed Room?**

**Thanks for the review guys ^_^ They really help me! I'm glad you all like Minako x Gaara! Kiba x Ino will be mentioned too, but not mainly. Maybe some of you haven't noticed, but this chapter will be a LITTLE similar to an episode in Tantei Gakuen Q. I just got the inspiration! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

Flashes of cameras engulfed the seven agents as they exited the room.

"Hoshina-san had disappeared from the time Julie-san and Aria-san had left the room, correct?" Sasuke asked, ignoring all of the riot as they made their way towards the crime scene. Everyone nodded. "First of all, how much time do we have left until the wedding?"

"Two hours and fifty-two minutes," Minako answered.

"Wow," Kiba muttered," time went by fast."

"Second, we need to look over the crime scene." The Uchiha turned towards the sisters. "Did you notice anything suspicious when you walked in?"

"Nothing really," Aria replied. "She was just hanging her stupid coat when we left."

While the others tried to recreate the scene, Sasuke kneeled down beside the coat on the ground. That was when he noticed a small red stain on the tan carpeting. It was so small it was only noticeable if you really look for it. He looked back at the coat, then it all clicked. But first, he needed some answers.

"Aria-san, Julie-san," he spoke up," was she hanging the coat on a coat hanger, or in the closet?"

The girls thought back until finally answering: "The closet."

The dark haired wonder got up from the floor and headed towards the designated area. He opened the closet door, revealing a series of coat hangers. The closet was quite large actually- large enough to fit a human. Everyone watched as he inspected a hanger and nodded his head. "I know how they did it," he suddenly announced.

The whole crowd went wild. **"WHAT?"**

"If you look closely at the coat, you'll notice a small red dot; it mostly likely came from a small cut or scratch. Now if you look at the bottom of the hanger, there's a small needle. The culprit, knowing that Mai-san had to put away her coat, hid somewhere inside this room. He had poisoned the hanger, so when she accidentally cut herself, it would paralyze her body."

"And…?" Julie urged.

"Once you two left, Mai-san froze. The culprit took the opportunity to hide her body."

"So you mean," Naruto piped up," when Kiba and Sakura-chan entered, Mai-san was still in the room?"

"Ah."

"Where was she hidden?" asked Minako.

"The closet."

Everyone glanced at him in awe. From the corner of Sasuke's eye, he spotted the hotel manage talking to a maid. For some strange reason, he had an urge to listen onto their conversation, and edged closer until their voices were audible.

"Maki-chan, _are you sure_ you didn't see anything?" Mr. Marako spoke. The teenage girl nodded her head viciously.

"No, sir, I didn't see anything," she replied. Out of curiosity, Sasuke spoke up. "What's going on?" he questioned. All of a sudden, Minako sneezed and a chorus of 'Bless You' filled the room.

"This is Maki-chan, the maid that cleaned Mai-san's room after you entered the basement. I was asking her if she saw anything unusual, but she insists she didn't," Mr. Marako explained.

Sasuke's attention averted towards the shy girl. "Who let you in?"

"Well... nobody was guarding it, and I only cleaned the bathroom."

His eyes bored into hers, causing Maki to shift uncomfortably. Once again, Minako sneezed, and she wiped her nose with her sleeve. Gaara noticed this and grunted. "Don't do that," he ordered," it's dirty."

"I-I should go," Maki stammered," I still have to clean the rest of the rooms on this floor." She quickly started to scramble away, but Sasuke caught her wrist.

"If you don't mind, I want to ask you one question," he said.

"Y-Yes?"

"Where were you at the time of the kidnapping?"

"T-Two floors below."

"Hn... you can go."

The Uchiha watched as the teen scurried away from the scene. His pink haired companion joined him. "What's wrong?" she wondered, watching the girl scurry away.

"Nothing."

The cherry blossom huffed. _Nothing my ass!_

The awkward tension between them disappeared when Sakura's cell phone rang. She took it out and read the text from the 'unknown number'. "Go to the basement if you want the truth," Sakura read. The cherry blossom locked eyes with her raven-haired companion.

Sasuke nodded. "Let's go."

**X X X**

The deafening silence was disturbed when Minako sneezed. Bits of dust engulfed everyone as they wadded away the unwanted substance. Minako felt her nose tickle once more, but ignored it. Then she noticed the main cause of her sneezing: rats! Whether if it's only a small strand of fur, she would always start sneezing .

"Can we please get out of here?" the blond female asked, bringing her sleeve to her nose.

"Why?" Kiba asked.

"She's allergic to rats," Gaara answered. "They make her sneeze." Then, turning to her, he suggested," Go upstairs. I don't want your allergies to become worse." Though he could tell she really objected, the blond-haired teen obliged anyways. However, before she did, she made him promise her one thing:

"If anything happens, you promise to call me?" she pleaded.

Gaara reached out to ruffle her hair. "Ah."

And with that, she left.

Sakura shifted some boxes away to uncover more space. "It looks as if someone hasn't been here in months. It's so dusty!"

Having the sharpest eyes in the group, Kiba noticed something no one else saw; and that was a dark figure hiding in the shadows.


	11. Found

**Chapter 11: Found**

"Get him!"

Those two words caused a riot. Kiba took off running after their unwanted guest with Sasuke and Gaara right on his tail. The mystery figure reached a door. He forcefully shoved it open and close before the two could catch up. Kiba pounded hard on the door, but it barely even budged. Then again, it was wooden, so can't it...

"Gaara," Sasuke called out, "we need to kick it down."

The redhead allowed a small smirk glide onto his features. Without another word, they both brought their leg up and- with all of their strength- kicked down the door. It immediately broke down and the two males ran in with everyone catching up one by one.

But their target wasn't in sight.

Something was up.

"Where's that guy?" Naruto hollered. "Didn't he run in here? Where is he, dattebayo?"

It was a storage closet. Maid carts were scattered along the walls. Brooms, mops, and more cleaning equipment were cluttered on the ground, messy as it could be.

"There's no exit here," Sakura realized. "That means that the culprit is still here."

"But the question is where...," Ino caught on.

All of a sudden, Minako ran into the room. "No fair!" she whined. "Gaara, you promised you would call me in if anything happened!"

Reaching out to ruffle her hair once more, he somewhat apologized," Ah- my bad."

Minako's sneezing suddenly started up once again. Something clicked in both Sakura and Sasuke's mind. "So that's how it is," they both said in unison. Everyone looked at them in confusion. The two exchanged glances.

"You figured it out too, didn't you." The question came out of the Uchiha's mouth as a statement.

The pink haired agent shot him a grin. "Yep- it makes sense once you look at it again."

"What's going on, dattebayo?" Naruto demanded anxiously. "I don't get it!"

"We know who's the culprit, where Mai-san is, where she's stored, and the secret to the locked room," Sakura announced.

"So how did the kidnapping go, dattebayo?" Naruto asked.

"If you look at it in a logical way, there's only one answer. Where was Mai-san hidden when Kiba-kun and I entered her room?" Sakura spoke.

"The closet," Ino answered.

"Who entered it without our permission?"

"Maki-chan!" Naruto replied.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "I get it now," he proclaimed.

"It makes sense, doesn't it?" the group's cherry blossom said. The redhead nodded. "Ah."

Minako grinned. "As suspected of Gaara," she beamed. Sakura swore she saw a small smile slip onto the redhead's face.

"Just tell us who did it!" Kiba demanded impatiently.

"What's Minako allergic of?" Gaara spoke.

"Rats," came Ino's voice. "But I still don't get how that has to do with anythi-"

"And she's been sneezing a lot around here," Kiba realized," even when Maki was upstairs in the room. But Minako wasn't sneezing before. And since Maki is a maid, all of her stuff is down here!"

"So Maki-chan is the culprit!" Naruto declared.

Sasuke nodded. "Exactly right."

"But where was the body?" Minako asked, scanning the room.

"Maki's alibi was strange," Sasuke admitted. "She claims that she was two floors below during the crime. It's impossible to clean all of those rooms in less than an hour. She was lying."

"Since she was alone in the room, no one saw what she was doing. She could have removed the body from the closet and placed it in the garbage bag, since it's big enough to fit a human. Then she took it down here. That means the body should be here somewhere," Sakura explained.

"I get it now!" Naruto chimed.

All of a sudden, they heard clapping. Looking up, they saw their former hooded target standing on the silver platform above.

"Congratulations." The voice sounded familiar. "You pass level three. Ace-sama will be really proud of you."

Ace.

The one person that was causing everyone to suffer under an enormous amount of stress.

"You might as well give up, Maki," Sasuke said. "We have you cornered. You can't get out of here, especially since we're guarding the exit."

From under her hood, Maki smirked. "You're right," she confessed. "But I have no intention of escaping."

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

The teenage girl pulled off her hood, revealing her face. "Ace-sama injected a special poison in me. In less than a minute, I'll have a heart attack and d-"

To everyone's horror, Maki's eyes widened and she clutched her heart, foam dripping out of her mouth. She let out a horrible choking sound before falling limply off the platform and a meter in front of Sakura, who screamed in terror and backed up into Sasuke. His arms wrapped around her protectively, almost as if he really meant to protect her.

"S-She's dead," Naruto stammered, eyes wide as saucers. Ino's phone started ringing, and she picked it up.

"It's from Ace again," she publicized.

"What does it say?" Kiba asked.

"_'For my cute little agents, congratulations on passing level three. However, don't get too happy. You still a long way to go. The level four notification card will be arriving in a three-to-four day period. But for now, enjoy the peace while it lasts'_."

Sakura pulled away from the Uchiha, seeming slightly flustered, as if wondering why she did that. "Then what about Mai-san?" she asked.

As if on cue, they heard a muffle coming from one of the bags. Going to the source of the sound, they found Mai tied up and blindfolded with a rag stuck into her mouth.

"Found her," Minako grinned. "ACHOOO! UGH, FRICKIN' ALLERGIES!"

**[ Two Hours Later ]**

"Thank you so much for finding my fiancé! I am very, very, very thankful! Please, if you need anything, just tell me!" Kaito cried joyously.

The rest sweatdropped.

"No, it's fine," Sakura beamed. "As long as you and your fiancé are safe, we're good."

"No, I insist!"

Mai gave them all a grateful smile. "If it wasn't for you, I really wouldn't know what would have happened to me. Thank you very much."

"Now," Kaito said, turning towards his beloved fiancé," it's time for you to become my wife."

**Updated: March 11, 2011**

***Note: This morning, an 8.9 earthquake and 30 ft. high, 500 MPH tsunami hit the country of Japan. More than a thousand people have are believed to be dead, and many are still missing. If you care, then pray for them, because I know I will 3**

**GO JAPAN!**


	12. The Sakihara Aiyoki Bodyguard Challenge

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**Sup peeps ;D How long has it been-? 5 or 6 months maybe? And you guys thought that I was dead _**

**This chapter is to ensure my safety 3**

**Level 4: The Sakihara Aiyoki Bodyguard Challenge**

"_Where's the map, where's the map? Where's the map, where's the map? Where's the map, where's the map?"_

"Naruto!" Ino shouted across the room. "Will _please _you turn off the stupid TV?"

"Nooooooooo!"

As you can see, Ino and a couple of other friends were lounging in Naruto's room for the tenth time that week.

"You know," Naruto piped up," this is _my _office! I can watch whatever I want, dattebayo!"

Meanwhile, Minako was talking on the phone in her own little corner. Gaara sat on the couch, reading a book of his, though every now and then he would glance over his shoulder.

"Minako-chan," Naruto chimed," who are you talking to for the past few hours?"

Minako hadn't left her phone for the past two and a half hours, and she would giggle every now and then. Everyone was getting suspicious, and they could really tell it was getting on Gaara's nerves just by glancing at his face.

"Wait, hold on," the blond-haired female spoke into the phone before lowering it. "It's my childhood friend, Keichi-kun!" They all notice a tint of sadness in her eyes. "We haven't talked at all ever since he left three years ago for Sakihara University, but now that we do, we have a lot to talk about!"

"_Sakihara University?" _Kiba, and Ino exclaimed, bewildered.

Naruto scratched his head. "What's so special about Sahizara University?" he wondered.

Everyone stared at him as if he had five eyes. "_Are you serious?" _Sakura uttered in disbelief. "You don't know anything about _Sakihara_ University?"

"It's one of the best and hardest schools in the whole nation!" Ino exclaimed.

"The school that has a food court in its own building?"

"Um... yeah?"

"Ohhhh, I know what it is now!"

Leave it to Naruto to categorize one of the most famous schools in Japan by its food court.

Out of nowhere, Sasuke barged into the room, snatched the remote from Naruto, and changed it to the News channel.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. "What was that for? Leave me and my Dora alone, dattebayo!"

Everyone shot strange looks at the blonde, who was too busy caught up in his own little argument to realize. Sasuke, however, didn't bother explaining; the television did it for him.

_"Today, the chairman and principal of Japan's very own prestigious college, Sakihara University, had received a threatening note regarding his daughter, Miss Sakihara Aiyoki. Full details have not been revealed, but it appears as if she's been targeted by a kidnapper of some sort," the news reporter publicized. "Not much information has been released, but we'll catch you up on the latest news! Now to Kizuke-kun for more information on the new Dora the Explorer movie!"_

_The camera shifted towards a middle-aged man holding a coffee cup. "Thank you, Hina-chan!" he beamed into the microphone. "The new Dora the Explorer movie is scheduled to air-"_

Sasuke switched off the TV, ignoring Naruto's protests. Then, slipping his hands into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a familiar black card. "Ace is back," he announced. Naruto snatched the notification card of his best friend's grip and lifted the flap.

"Dear FBI," he began reading," looks like I've underestimated you in the last level. However, I won't let you off so easily this time. Your job this time is to guard Sakihara Aiyoki, the daughter of Sakihara University's principal.

"Your hints is: X.

"I cannot tell the future, but I can promise you one thing: by the end of the week, at least one of you will be put in the hospital."

"Is he threatening us?" Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Because if he is, then it's on!"

Something struck Minako. "Wait a minute," she realized," if we're going to Sakihara University, then I can see Keichi-kun!" She whipped out her phone. "I have to tell him!"

At the corner of his eyes, Kiba noticed the straight look plastered onto Gaara's features. And that was the start of Level 4, otherwise known as The Sakihara Aiyoki Bodyguard Challenge.

**X X X**

"Whoa! This place is huge, dattebayo!"

Standing in front of Japan's famous college campus with their baggage in hand, they gazed in amazement at the spacious grounds. Behind them just a few meters stood an oversized golden gate like in one of those mansions. An enormous fountain was to their right, and a pack of students were seated on the rich green grass holding sketchbooks and outlining their drawings.

"It really gives off a college feeling," Ino commented, still glancing at her new surroundings.

"Here's the plan," Sakura announced," we all unpack our stuff in our rooms and meet in the cafeteria at five sharp." Everyone nodded, and the next thing they knew, they were all off to experience the college life for a week. But unknown to them, a dark figure hid behind the shadows of the trees.

**X X X**

"What do you think the guys are doing?"

"Probably fighting over who gets the top bunk."

In their rooms, Minako, Sakura, and Ino steadily unpacked their things in no rush whatsoever. As Minako placed her clothes neatly into four piles, someone knocked on the door. The three girls glanced at each other in confusion. _The boys unpack fast._

"I'll get it!" Minako volunteered, skipping towards the door. Ino and Sakura returned to their previous activities, but jumped when they heard a shriek from behind. Jerking around, they saw Minako fazed, mouth wide open. Without saying a single word, they rushed over to find...

**Chapter ends here guys! :D Yes, I am evil for making you wait even longer. Anyways, comment! I want to see what you guys think of my comeback :D**

**Updated: March 17, 2011**

**PRAY FOR JAPAN GUYS!**


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